Efficiency expert Claire Wolfe details how she works and lives in a 360 square foot cabin. While Claire takes it to the extreme, learning to work productively in cramped quarters is a great skill for traveling, living in a dorm room, and other less-than-ideal living arrangements.

Living small inevitably brings some surprises. For instance, most people automatically assume that a smaller house requires less housework than a big one. First learning experience: In small spaces, every dirty dish left on the counter, every pile of bills you set on a tabletop upon return from the Post Office, becomes—proportionally—a big mess.